Tarnos - La Digue Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's coming up for the local stretch.

Honestly, it's a bit of a flat spell ahead. The whole 16-day window is a struggle, with a long stretch of tiny, messy waves. The only real blip of interest arrives on the 21st of August, but even that comes with a side of bad wind. Don’t get your hopes up too early.

We kick off the window with pretty much nothing. Sunday the 9th is a write-off with onshore wind and weak 2 ft to 3 ft swell. Monday through to the end of that first week stays small, with heights barely pushing 2 ft. The combined swell energy is in the weak range (85 to 119). The wind is mostly cross-onshore, ruining what little shape there is.

Tuesday morning the 11th offers a small window of hope. For a few hours, the wind goes glassy with a slight offshore breeze from the NNW at 5 km/h. The swell is still tiny at 2 ft from the NW with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy is a low 66. It’s surfable but very ordinary. You might get a few knee-high rollers to yourself. Same story on Wednesday morning the 12th – glassy conditions again, but the swell is still only 2 ft and the period drops to 8 seconds.

After that, it’s back to onshore junk and even smaller waves through the middle of the month. Thursday the 14th brings a tiny bump to 3 ft, but it’s under onshore wind with energy at 119. Still not worth rushing for.

We then hit a real dead zone from the 15th through the 20th. Swell sits between 1 ft and 3 ft, with most of the time showing "poor surf conditions." The combined energy is very weak, mostly below 100. You’ll get a few glassy mornings on the 18th and 19th, but with the swell only 3 ft and 1 ft respectively and a short period of 6-7 seconds, it’s barely a ripple.

Now, the only thing that gets me talking is the 21st of August. The combined swell energy jumps to a strong 543 (morning) and 819 (afternoon), which is a real shot of power. Swell height builds to 4 ft in the morning, hitting 6 ft by the afternoon, all from the NW with a period of 11 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell. But here's the catch: the wind is a problem. It’s onshore in the morning at 15 km/h and cross-onshore in the afternoon, picking up to a moderate 20 km/h. That 6 ft is also getting up there in size, making it less friendly for beginners. The conditions will be choppy. It’s a classic case of the swell being there, but the wind ruining the party. This setup might actually be more interesting for the kite crew than a paddle surfer.

From the 22nd onward, it fades again. The 22nd morning has a 4 ft swell with light cross-onshore wind, which is the best of a bad bunch, but it's still only rated as marginal. By the 24th, we're back to tiny, messy surf.

So, to wrap it up: there’s no true standout here. The 21st of August has the power, but the wind is a killer. If you’re desperate, the glassy mornings on the 11th and 12th will give you a few clean, tiny waves. Otherwise, it’s a long wait.

Rusty.

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